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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24921439">Color the Sky</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laora/pseuds/Laora'>Laora</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Agender Rhyme, Beat is Best Brother you can't change my mind, Coming Out, Gen, and Rhyme is a sunshine angel okay they are perfect</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 05:09:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,484</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24921439</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laora/pseuds/Laora</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhyme knows they're not a girl. Now, it's just a matter of telling their brother.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>50</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Color the Sky</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Look so I just came out as enby to my sisters this week and it went GREAT, like even better than I expected, and then I had to write this fic I'm sorry I don't make the rules</p><p>Set, idk? Six months before the Game starts? Rhyme is 11-12, Beat's 14-15</p><p>Is this historically accurate at all for circa 2006 Japan? Almost definitely not. Do I care? Take a guess, I wrote this as a catharsis for myself in 2020 :) </p><p>(Also, half-European Bitous is one of my fave headcanons and I will fight you on this. it's why they're blonde and why Beat struggles with Japanese so much, because he moved when he was old enough that picking up a new language was harder - not even taking into account his learning disabilities) </p><p> </p><p>  <b>ALSO I WROTE THIS IN LIKE 1.5 HOURS TODAY BECAUSE TWEWY ANIME I'M SO FUCKING HYPE</b></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rhyme's never been so sure of something in their life.</p><p>(<em>Their, </em>not <em>her—</em>it's not fluent in their mind, not yet, but it <em>will be. </em>They're not quite used to using a neutral pronoun like this, but there's a warmth growing in their chest every time they think about it—not being a girl, like everyone's told them they are—being Other instead, but in a way that's comforting and familiar. It’s like their favorite hoodie, like the pendant Beat fought back crowds of CAT fans to buy them—like a home, safe and happy.)</p><p>(They aren't a girl, and that's okay, because they're themselves—they're Raimu Bitou, and if they know one thing for certain, it's that their brother loves them without question.)</p><p>It doesn't mean they're not scared to death of telling him what they've learned.</p><p>That's why they've been standing outside his closed bedroom door, hugging themselves around the middle for the last five minutes, trying to convince themselves to knock. The bell pendant digs in under their ribs, his words echoing—"Only the best for my little sis, right? Hope you like it—" and the memory only makes them hold themselves tighter. What if—what if Beat only liked them so much because he thought they were his little sister? Because they're not his sister anymore, and their gut sinks lower because maybe—</p><p>The door swings inward, startling them out of their trance harshly, and Beat nearly runs into them before he takes the time to look where he's going. "Sup?" he asks. He looks a little distracted—cheerful enough, which is good, because while Beat is never angry at <em>Rhyme, </em>when he's in a mood after fighting with their parents, his temper is shorter than normal. "You need somethin'?"</p><p>They nod, a little jerkily, and try to smile as they look up at him. Their stomach is doing backflips. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"</p><p>Beat hesitates, one hand twitching for his phone, but after a couple seconds of staring at them with a frown he backs up again. "Sure, what's up?"</p><p>They follow him inside and close the door, trying to take deep breaths. His room is a mess, just like always, and it's strangely comforting as they pick a clean spot on his unmade bed, sitting down and bouncing their leg. "Yo, everything okay?" Beat asks after several seconds of silence, sitting down beside them and throwing an arm around their shoulders. It's a familiar motion, comforting, and Rhyme melts into his side a little. They take a deep breath.</p><p>"Um, I want to tell you something," they say, and can't quite keep the tremor out of their voice. "But can you promise you won't be upset?"</p><p>"Dude, you're my little sis. I'll never be mad at you," he says immediately, his face falling into a frown as he pulls them a little tighter.</p><p>They twitch at the familiar phrase, unwillingly, but Beat catches it anyway. "Rhyme?" he asks, a little louder.</p><p>"I'm not your sister," they blurt, and then hug themselves a little tighter, looking across the room at the unframed art plastered to his wall. "I'm—"</p><p>"'Course you are!" Beat says instantly, reaching to grab their other shoulder, pulling them around and looking them in the eye. "Is this Dad's BS again, sayin' I'm too stupid to be your brother—?"</p><p>"No! No," they say, quickly, reaching up to grip his arm briefly. "That's not what I meant. You're my brother, obviously, but… I'm. I'm not a girl."</p><p>Beat doesn't say anything for several seconds, frowning at them as he processes this. They know he takes longer to think through things, sometimes, and they're a patient person, but the anxiety is growing with every passing second—"Are you a boy, then?" he asks, eventually, his brow scrunched up in honest confusion as he looks at them. There's no judgment in his face, only a desire to understand, and Rhyme takes a deep, shaky breath.</p><p>"I've been—reading, online. There's people who aren't a girl <em>or </em>a boy, they're—they're a <em>them, </em>and—and I feel the same way. I'm something separate."</p><p>Beat blinks at them, his brows still furrowed. "I didn't know that's an option," he says eventually, bluntly, and Rhyme laughs, a little.</p><p>"Me neither," they say. "I found some English forums, a month or two ago, and… everything they were saying, it just felt <em>right </em>to me? So, um, I wanted to tell you. I'm not a girl, I'm just—I'm a person."</p><p>"So you're not my sister anymore," Beat says slowly, frowning a little more, and Rhyme's gut sinks again. "But you're not my brother either, so—so what do I call you?"</p><p>They blink at him, completely thrown by the question, and then burst out laughing. Somehow, he never stops surprising them. "There's sibling," they suggest with a smile, and Beat scowls.</p><p>"That's, like, an old person word," he argues. "Won't catch me sayin' that. Maybe <em>sib </em>ain't so bad, though—"</p><p>He goes off for a while on that, wondering aloud if he could get away with <em>partner in crime </em>or <em>matey </em>or any number of other silly titles. Rhyme leans into his side again, half-listening, putting their arm around him in turn. He's always so warm, and soft, even though his biceps are mostly the size of their entire torso. They have no idea how he does it, but… It's nice, to have a brother that doubles as a cuddle buddy.</p><p>"So, uh, that means you're not a <em>she, </em>right?" Beat asks eventually, sounding a little unsure. It breaks them out of their daze, and they nod as their heart grows even warmer.</p><p>"I like the way <em>they </em>sounds, if that's okay. Like, <em>they went to the store </em>or <em>they're my sibling." </em></p><p>"Never gonna say <em>sibling," </em>Beat mutters, and Rhyme laughs again. "But yeah, okay, I'll remember that!"</p><p>He grins down at them, ruffling their hair through their beanie. "It still okay to call you <em>dude?" </em>he asks abruptly after several seconds longer. "Since it's—it's a dude word and all, but I didn't—"</p><p>They think about it for a second. "Yeah, that's okay," they say eventually. "I think what bugs me the most are girl words, but boy words are okay for now."</p><p>"Cool," Beat says, and pulls them closer for a second before grinning again. "So, s'that all you wanted to tell me? 'Cause that's <em>nothin', </em>you standin' there lookin' all scared made me think somethin' <em>bad </em>happened!"</p><p>Rhyme doesn’t say anything for a moment, chewing on their lip as they process this. It’s such a <em>Beat </em>thing to say that they don’t know how to respond—</p><p>But when they look up at their brother’s open, honest face—always aggressively supportive, always their brother even when he doesn’t completely understand—the floodgates are open, sudden and unexpected, and they sob loudly, burying their face in Beat's shirt. He reels back, his hands flailing, obviously alarmed. "Wha's wrong?" he demands, trying to push them away to look them in the face, but they only latch on tighter. "I didn't mean—"</p><p>"I love you," they say, their voice breaking as his shirt quickly grows damp. "You're the best—"</p><p>"Love you too," Beat says instantly, confused, hesitating for a moment longer before pulling them closer, putting one tentative hand on the back of their head. "But why're you—"</p><p>Rhyme swallow a couple times, trying to compose themselves before answering. "A lot of people online, they said their families didn't get it," they whisper, eventually. "They—got angry, or kicked them out, or ignored it, and I was scared you'd—"</p><p>"Dude, you're my little sib," Beat says instantly, like the words have always rolled off his tongue exactly like that, and the warm feeling grows until they're sure it's going to burst right out of their chest. "I ain't gonna hate you just 'cause you—you wanna use a different word for yourself, that'd be stupid—"</p><p>"I was scared you'd see me differently, since I'm not your sister anymore," they say, quiet, and Beat hesitates.</p><p>"I mean, I do see you different," he says, unsure, and their breath hitches. "'Cause I used to think you're a girl, yeah? But now I know you're not, so I've gotta remember that, and I don't ever wanna think of you like a girl 'cause that doesn’t feel good, right?"</p><p>"Yeah," they breathe, and feel more tears working their way up their throat.</p><p>"Yeah," Beat agrees, "and I've gotta watch out for you, even if you're my sib instead of my sis, that don't matter—"</p><p>Rhyme sobs again, loudly, the relief heavy and overwhelming as they only grip at Beat tighter. "I love you," they say again, and Beat hesitates before reaching to fully engulf them in a hug.</p><p>"Love you more," he says, a smile in his voice, and Rhyme just squeezes him tighter.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i kind of imagine beat as the embodiment of the "he's confused but he's got the spirit" meme, like as it turns out none of this friendgroup are allocishet and none of them are neurotypical and like he doesn't always get it but he's Aggressively Supportive Anyway and beats the crap out of anyone who misgenders Rhyme or Shiki or Josh and like, look, beat is just So Good</p><p>also, he spends hours online in secret after this fic reading up on non-binary to make sure he understands completely so he doesn't make Rhyme uncomfy bc he loves them That Much</p><p>this was def supposed to be a Rhyme-centric and cathartic fic for me since i'm the enby, it's me i'm projecting onto them but then,,,,, beat just smashed in the door and yelled that he supports everyone regardless of gender and then i got carried away in the notes sry</p></blockquote><div class="children module" id="children">
  <b class="heading">Works inspired by this one:</b>
  <ul>
    <li>
        <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25081744">"He's confused but he's got the spirit"</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashery24/pseuds/Ashery24">Ashery24</a>
    </li>
  </ul>
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